Mitral valve reconstruction in a pediatric population: late clinical results and predictors of long-term outcome.

Objective: Pediatric mitral valve anomalies present complex management challenges to the surgeon, who may have to choose between valve replacement or repair. We review our 18 years of experience to establish the long-term outcomes of pediatric mitral repair.

Methods: Forty-five children (22 boys) with mitral valve anomalies were studied.

Congenital cardiac disease as a core feature of cranio-osteoarthropathy.

Cranio-osteoarthropathy is a rare condition. Classically, signs are identifiable in infancy with clubbing of fingers, and delayed closure of the clinically enlarged cranial sutures, followed by periosteal new bone formation on X-rays of the long bones. Ultimately, joint swelling and stiffness follow, typically involving the large joints.

Is extended arch aortoplasty the operation of choice for infant aortic coarctation? Results of 15 years' experience in 181 patients.

Background: Recurrent coarctation is an ever-present complication of surgical treatment of coarctation of aorta (CoA) among infants. No single operation appears to have a clear superiority.

Methods: From January 1, 1986, to June 30, 2002, a consecutive series of 181 patients less than 1 year of age (range 1 to 300 days, median 13.

Non-invasive investigation and management of aortic saddle embolus in a 7-month-old infant.

There are few reports in the literature on the ultrasound appearance of aortic saddle embolus, and none relating to small children. This unusual condition is usually diagnosed angiographically. The purpose of this report is to show how effectively high-frequency ultrasound can identify a saddle embolus with its associated collateral circulation in a young child, and to demonstrate its usefulness in monitoring the efficacy of treatment.